I am going to toss this up tonight, December 6th, and then come back here during the week and flesh this all out (add content and context to the days/weeks) .
With everyone so busy and the holidays approaching I think the sooner we can look a little ahead the better.
December 2023 is all about an important Mercury retrograde that will take us from early Capricorn - collectively this will be about our goals/ambition/career/public life, our paternal storyline - back to the powerful 22nd degree of Sagittarius.
We will go back and forth over the Galactic Center - our collective 'homing signal' THREE times. Ands since this is a 'homing signal' and Mercury rules communication and language - this, just in itself, is a BIG DEAL.
For many people Cappy to Sag and back to Cappy will speak of their holiday activities.
Work to travel and back to work. Work to fun and then back to work. Work to church and then back to work.
For other people, a Cappy to Sagittarius Mercury speaks of a change of big picture beliefs/beliefs about what is possible for us, maybe especially in regard to our career and public life.
Some people will quit a job or retire.
Some will go back to school.
Some will find religion.
We go from an earth sign back into a fire sign, so maybe passions will be re-awakened, especially in regard to our AMBITIONS.
(I am half-watching a football game, and remembering a football-loving uncle who would speak of the players' need to 'play the ball' and not the other person. In Capricorn, and Pluto is getting ready to leave AGAIN - it is not a coincidence we get this important Mercury retrograde here now - we have been taking each other down for hundreds and hundreds of years in our attempt TO GET THE BALL. Cappy is as patriarchal/hierarchical as we get, and our group memories here are TRIBAL and not in line with the more individualistic energies of our newly emerging Aquarian landscape. This 'stranger in a strange land' thing we've got going on now coupled with many withdrawing from those who are different isn't working/computing because our data is OUT OF DATE. Three passes of Mercury over the Galactic Center will help.)
And maybe nothing says CHIRISTMAS more than a return to the more high-flying/good natured energy of Sagittarius after the wintery earth and sometimes dearth of Capricorn.
Of course, the retrograde itself will add some wonk and miscommunications - shop early! Recheck travel plans and communications, back up files - you know the drill.
Rethinking, Revising. Revisiting. Reminiscing. All, par for the course, when Mercury is retrograde.
Something else to keep in mind with Mercury's extended stay in Capricorn is that Mercury in Cappy requires sober/disciplined thinking to avoid depression. Our foray into sunny Sag will hopefully help us avoid much of this. But, keep in mind, if you find yourself reminiscing, and not in a good way, feeling lonely/feeling the winter blues - this too shall pass. Transits are called transits because they are TRANSITORY.
Let's unpack this thing!
NOVEMBER 25th - Mercury reaches 22 degrees Sagittarius - starts walking degrees he will repeat
DECEMBER 1st - Mercury direct enters Capricorn - here is where our words/communications, etc start to become more serious, keep in mind whatever is happening now will have connections to what we have going on later in the month because Mercury will be re-walking these same Cappy degrees two more times
DECEMBER 13th - Mercury stations retrograde at 8 degrees Cappy (hours after the Sagittarius New Moon at 20 degrees Sagittarius)
It is also worth mentioning and we will talk about this in the 2024 posts - Ceres is going to move into Capricorn in early February 2024 and stay there, due to her upcoming retrograde, for almost the entire year of 2024 (thru December 7, 2024). Her retrograde will start in the middle of May on 21 degrees Capricorn, which is pretty much where she was back in January 2020 when "time ran out". I will give that its own post.
DECEMBER 18th - Mercury retro trines Jupiter retro (5 degrees)
DECEMBER 21st - Mercury retro sextiles Saturn (2 degrees)
DECEMBER 22nd - Sun conjunct Mercury retro (0 degrees), Solstice - here is a light on what this Mercury retrograde is about for us, happening at the Solstice powers this all up/extends its timeline
DECEMBER 23rd - Mercury retrograde, backs into OPTIMISTIC Sagittarius
DECEMBER 27th- Mercury retrograde squares Neptune (25 degrees), Mercury retrograde conjunct Mars (24 degrees) - this period of time around the Mercury/Mars, maybe especially in the couple days prior as this conjunction is applying, will likely be the MOST VOLATILE. Now we have Mercury retrograde, so wonky anyway, back in bombastic Sag, squaring illusive Neptune and meeting up with a fired up Mars. Disagreements/misunderstandings are possible. Double check your info and keep your communications short and to the point.
JANUARY 1st - Mercury stations direct at 22 degrees Sagittarius (hours after Jupiter stations direct at 5 degrees Taurus, the degree of the Lunar Eclipse of October 28th)
JANUARY 8th - Mercury direct squares Neptune (25 degrees) again
JANUARY 18th - Mercury direct sextiles Saturn (4 degrees) again
JANUARY 19th - Mercury direct trines Jupiter (6 degrees) again
JANUARY 20th - PLUTO leaves Capricorn and RE-ENTERS AQUARIUS, now all planets except Uranus (co-ruler of Aquarius) are direct and one week later on January 27th, Uranus stations direct.
So by JANUARY 27TH - all planets are direct, Pluto is back in Aquarius, the future is reaching back to pull us forward and ALL SYSTEMS ARE GO
Note - this 'all systems are go' thing doesn't mean we can sit on the sidelines until the end of January. We have to work the process of these retrogrades in order to be in the right place at the right time - and in the right frame of mind - at the end/beginning of all this.
And, yes, if you feeling a sense of deja vu about Pluto going into Aquarius, you aren't hallucinating. We were here last year around this same time of year dancing this same dance, but now we are OLDER AND WISER and Pluto will make one final pitstop back in Capricorn next fall. Pluto really doesn't want to leave Capricorn! :)
I will add to this post as I go through the week and have time to get back here.
This Mercury Retrograde is a GIFT - we are going from Sagittarius hope and optimism to Capricorn realism and then back to the hope/optimism to iron out a few things/regroup, maybe remember what we were all fired up about in the first place (!) and then finally back to the Cappy realism - with renewed enthusiasm and vigor.
Think - yes, to extended planning and negotiation. No - to contracts and singing on the dotted line (if possible, sometimes it won't be and then you will need to know there will be revisions) until mid January.
xo
